Advice on handheld electric drill for jacks

[TheTichenors]

I am looking to buy a dedicated handheld electric drill for raising and lowering my stabilizer jacks on my 30' Surveyor TT. I am also wanting to use it on the jacks of my ProPride hitch.

Should I get the type that has an 'impact wrench' function or just stick to the basic high-torque drill/driver models? I was thinking the impact wrench function would be handy for getting the jacks started but I don't want to damage anything.

Thoughts?

[jmatteis]

When we first got our camper, I had intended to throw in a 12v dewalt impact, but found an online estate auction and got a small Ridgid 12v drill and flashlight combo that works great, 2nd speed for quick up and down, and 1st to seat it. It's quiet.. although, my dewalt impact is also quiet unless it's working with resistance, otherwise, it sounds no different than a drill.

[Allworth]

The cheapest cordless impact driver on the Harbor Freight wall.. Use it for two years and put it in the donations box. Get a new one. Three $33 drivers from HF equal one $99 DeWalt and you get a new battery every other year.

A

[drsteve]

Impact is not necessary. Stabilizer jacks aren't supposed to be used for leveling, so you only need to get them snug. I've been using a plain Jane drill for years, never thought I needed anything more.

[dodge_guy]

whiteeye42 wrote:

ken56 wrote:
Please, no impact driver. It gives you no advantage and it is just plain anoying to others near by who can hear it. I had a DeWalt drill with the 2 torque settings and it worked just fine. Those jacks are are stabilizers not leveling jacks and should not be used to level the trailer by putting high torque on them to lift the trailer. Use blocks under the tires instead.

I use my impact each and every time and has not damaged a thing and if the other people can't stand it for just a minute then they can leave as far as I am concerned

You obviously don't really hear it. An impact has its uses, but stabilizer jacks is not one of them. And yes they are loud and obnoxious!

[whiteeye42]

ken56 wrote:
Please, no impact driver. It gives you no advantage and it is just plain anoying to others near by who can hear it. I had a DeWalt drill with the 2 torque settings and it worked just fine. Those jacks are are stabilizers not leveling jacks and should not be used to level the trailer by putting high torque on them to lift the trailer. Use blocks under the tires instead.

I use my impact each and every time and has not damaged a thing and if the other people can't stand it for just a minute then they can leave as far as I am concerned

[whiteeye42]

i use my craftsman impact and it has never done any damage and it is not noisy at all and it other people don't like it to bad it only last a minute anyway

[Bobbo]

Ryobi One+ 18v impact drill here. I stop when it hammers the first time. (I do have a Ryobi One+ 18v blower with me too. I use it to blow off the steps and outside rug.)

[SuperBus]

Veebyes wrote:
I like yellow. Dewalt drill has served well. Be careful that the torque does not sprain your wrist.

From a safety stand-point, I would say use an impact. You won't get a sudden reaction torque that could hurt you as you may(will) with a regular drill/driver.

If the jacks are of good quality (i.e. acme screw) you'd be hard pressed to damage them, unless the load rating was exceeded by lifting more than you could normally muster using the hand crank.

[Veebyes]

I like yellow. Dewalt drill has served well. Be careful that the torque does not sprain your wrist.

[bukhrn]

drsteve wrote:

ken56 wrote:
People use leaf blowers to blow off the roof of their slides before bringing them in. Not unusual and not landscaping. I use a broom. I hate unnecessary noise and I try to keep mine down to a minimum.

This is why I installed a slide topper.

X-2, I realize you need to clean off your slide, but if you have to run your leaf blower for nearly a full 1/2 hour, your camped in the wrong place or you have too many slides.

[philh]

same brand as my home unit. Gains me extra batteries for home 🙂

[drsteve]

ken56 wrote:
People use leaf blowers to blow off the roof of their slides before bringing them in. Not unusual and not landscaping. I use a broom. I hate unnecessary noise and I try to keep mine down to a minimum.

This is why I installed a slide topper.

[ken56]

People use leaf blowers to blow off the roof of their slides before bringing them in. Not unusual and not landscaping. I use a broom. I hate unnecessary noise and I try to keep mine down to a minimum.

[2012Coleman]

jplante4 wrote:
Get the loudest, most annoying impact driver you can find and run that sucker full blast at seven in the morning when breaking camp. I believe this is the norm.

I used to have my wife using the leaf blower WHILE I was using the impact wrench to lower the stabilizers.

Dang auto leveling system on my new camper ruined all my fun - now I can only make half the noise.